I don't dance
by Dark Gothic Lolita
Summary: Juvia has been crushing on Gray ever since she moved schools, but can the school's hot head make her dance to a different beat, even though he claims he can't or won't dance? School AU as well as another Navia. Teehee
1. Chapter 1

Hey Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So how goes it everyone? Yes, I know, I've been incognito for over a month now, nearly two in fact and I'm sorry. Getting used to the university life took longer than I thought. No matter, I'm back now and I just wanted you all to know that!

So I'm here with another Navia and I am happy to bring it out for you guys! This is an AU and I'm not saying any more teehee.

Disclaimers are boring.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **I don't dance**

 **Chapter one**

This must be a dream come true! This is the moment I've been waiting for! I mean, I love dance and dance class, but when I set my eyes on my crush being here, I knew that this was going to be a class to love! Although, I was a little skeptical at first because the Queen bee, the girl that everyone loves, Lucy Heartphilia was also going to be in this class and I had the sneaky suspicion that Gray was in love with her, I just had to think of ways to woo him.

Making him bentos was one, watching his every move was another. My best friend, Gajeel-kun had told me that stalking was a little too much. "If he finds out that you stalk him, he'll put a restraining order on you, so stop being creepy." Okay so maybe what Gajeel had said was true, but I do it healthily...I think...

So when Gray said he couldn't be at the showcase, my whole world came crashing down. Was it because of me? Oh no, he found out about my stalking and he was creeped out! Luckily, Lucy had asked and his answer wasn't any of the above. "Nah, it's just that my Aunt Ur has died after battling cancer for about a year. It's her funeral that night." Everyone began comforting him even though he clearly didn't want it. I pushed through them all, sad that he wouldn't be able to dance with me, but sad about his Aunt.

"Juvia is sorry to hear about that Gray-sama. Juvia sends her condolences." He just shrugged at me with a quick 'thank you' before he fell into Lucy's hug as she consoled him. My eyes fell down the ground. Any other time and this would have sparked fire within me to remove her from his hold, but it was clear as day now. I had been trying for the past two years ever since I had transfered here but every time I wanted to confess to him, he never gave me the time of day. Plus he called me creepy, and not just on one occasion too.

I just sighed and turned my back before the dance teacher called me over. "It would seem like you have to find a new dance partner and maybe even try a new dance." My eyes widened.

"But Mira-sensei! The only dance that Juvia knows is 'The winter' dance and that was better done with Gray-sama! Juvia will just drop out of the dance." I saw the woman's eyes flash at me.

"I'm afraid that if you quit the dance production, then you fail the class." I flinched. I hated failing. I liked my good grades and if I failed this class, then Levy would beat me this year and I have to do whatever she wants me to do for her for a week.

"Fine, Juvia will find someone!" But who? Everyone else was already with their own partners and I didn't bother getting to know many people because I was so hung up on Gray.

I took in a deep breath. When I turned back around, Lucy was in front of me and I almost stumbled backwards. I gave her a subtly annoyed look as though I didn't have time for her. I know that everyone liked her, but I wasn't just 'everyone'. "I have a friend that would be able to dance with you! I mean, it may have been a while since he danced, but he's extremely talented!" My spirits were lifted completely as I thanked her. She laughed and said not to worry as she gave me her friend's number before jumping over to Gray and her dance partner, Loke. Then I hated her all over again.

I stared at the number in my hand and rolled my eyes. Probably an ex-boyfriend of hers no doubt. So while everyone was rehearsing, I left seeing as I didn't have a partner to dance with and Gray was just sitting at the side waiting for Loke and Lucy to finish up. I got out into the hall and saw that there was no one at school, only a few people in detention. Then I dialled the number.

The guy answered on the third ring and he sounded annoyed. _"Hey! I'm in detention! Just be lucky that there's no teacher in here, otherwise I'll find you and hurt you for getting my phone taken away."_ He sounded really angry, but almost like he was relieved that I called, as though he was bored out of his mind. Then something went off in my head. Why did he sound so hot, and why was his voice so familiar?

 _"Anyway, who is this?"_ I swallowed the dry lump in my throat.

"This is Juvia, Lucy-san gave Juvia your number. But who is this? Lucy didn't tell Juvia." The guy on the other end of the line chuckled softly and my heart was fluttering. I scowled at myself. Was I really this easy? Just because I was slowly giving up on Gray doesn't mean that I was completely over him, yet I felt like I was cheating on him, EVEN IF WE WEREN'T GOING OUT!

 _"You're funny Juvia. This is Natsu."_ Then the illusion died down. NATSU?! Was Lucy seriously playing a bad prank on me? Why did she think that Natsu could dance, talk less of wanting him to dance with _me_? Okay, so maybe I've never in my life spoken to him, but I've heard of him through Gajeel and I've heard that he gets in a heck of a lotta fights, more than Gajeel has ever started which is a lot! It must be because Gajeel looks scary, so if you mess with him in the first place, you just wanted to commit suicide.

 _"But Lucy's got it all wrong. I don't dance. Never have and I never will, so sorry Juvia, you might have to find yourself a new partner."_ I thought he would hang right up, but I could still hear him softly breathing on the other end of the line. I guess he was waiting for a reply.

"Oh, then Juvia is sorry for disturbing Natsu-san." He laughed again which set off butterflies in my stomach, no matter how much I tried to kill them off with the thought of the guy talking to me was Natsu.

 _"That's fine. Just tell Luce I said no. Maybe I'll even see you around."_ Then the line went dead. He said he'll 'see you around.' I don't know why that made me feel like squealing, but I wanted to. Then I thought of Gray and his Aunt and I became depressed once again. No one could ever replace Gray! I'll make sure he loves me!

Even I didn't believe in myself anymore.

~x~

"He said no?! He was supposed to say YES! Ugh, what is wrong with that boy?" I shrugged. Was I supposed to know that. Lucy looked really angry. Then her face softened. "I guess it was expected. I wasn't expecting for him to say yes." Something happened? Judging by the look on her face, there was more to Natsu than what meets the eye, but I knew more than well enough that I wasn't going to be told. I'd never spoken to him face to face for crying out loud!

"I'm sorry Juvia, I just thought that he would say yes." I smiled. Well only politely because I still didn't like her.

"It's fine, Juvia will find a partner herself." She smiled, obviously thinking that I liked her before I turned on my heels and walked out of the hall again, only this time I was going home. I rolled my eyes when I thought of Lucy. She could get any guy she wanted, yet why did it have to be my guy?!

I was too wrapped up in my thoughts that I got round a corner and almost flew into someone, only to have that person sidestep out of the way. I stumbled a little bit before catching myself. "Woah, sorry there, didn't see you until the last minute." I eyes widened as I straightened up. That voice was awfully familiar...I turned around to come face to face to a pink haired guy.

"Natsu?"

"Wait, you're Juvia?!" We both stared at one another. I guess he recognises my voice faster than I do with his. I nodded my head and he stared at me. "Wow, you're more than just a beautiful voice, aren't you?" I blinked at him before my face was on fire. I was so not expecting a compliment, talk less of being called beautiful! How do I, the weird depressing girl respond to that?"

"E-er, why um-er, thank you..." He laughed again.

"I'm guessing you're not used to compliments?" I nodded, suddenly feeling shy. He grinned before we started walking out of the school together. Then it was like his happy go lucky exterior was lost and he sighed while running his hand through his hair. "Look, I know that you care a lot about dance and I'm probably the best candidate for your dance partner, but I just can't."

I nodded, sighing as well. "Is it stage fright?" He blinked before shaking his head.

"Nah, not stage fright. Just bad memories." I flinched as I had probably brought back those bad memories.

"Oh, Juvia is sorry. She didn't mean to..." He laughed.

"You? You didn't do anything. It's been two years...People say I should get over it and hey, I might just have to! If I change my mind, I'll let you know. I know I sound unsure, but I guess I can say I will dance with you for now and I'll just tell you whether I can do it or not. Let me debate it with myself." I smiled brightly, and without even thinking, I hugged him.

"Thanks Natsu, you're the best! Well Juvia has to get home now!" I waved at him while heading back to my house.

* * *

I got home to see Gajeel talking with Levy in the front room. "Hi Levy-chan!" Gajeel and I both lived together seeing as we didn't have parents of our own and Levy was his girlfriend. Levy waved at me and I threw my bag lazily on the opposite couch.

"You're home early. Did Gray ditch you?" Gajeel started laughing at his own joke and Levy slugged him in the shoulder. I just glared at him harshly.

"No, he said that his Aunt died and that he won't be able to be at the showcase." Levy gasped and Gajeel just grunted.

"Ju-chan! You were so waiting for that dance! You practised so much for it and you were going to ask him out!" Levy left Gajeel to come and hug me and I smiled at her.

"It's fine Levy-chan. Juvia has decided to get over Gray-sama and she will just have to find herself a new partner."

Levy sighed as though she was relieved about something I looked at her weirdly and Gajeel started talking. "Shrimp is just happy that you're no longer going to be hung up on that bastard. So am I. If he ever did give you the time of day, you'll end up heartbroken."

Levy looked like she was ashamed to admit it, but I just hugged her again. "Thank you for being such a good friend to Juvia. Although Juvia may have never listened, she's glad that you care about her being heartbroken one day."

Before she could reply, my phone went off. I excused myself before going out and up to my room. I saw the caller ID before I answered it.

"Natsu?"

 _"Hey Juvia, just wanted to say that...I can't dance with you..."_

I gasped quietly. I didn't know why it was so much of a big deal to me. Oh that's because I would have to fail my class and all that practice will be for nothing. No other reason...Right?

"Oh, Okay then. It's fine." No it's not! It's certainly not fine! I wanted to dance! So maybe my dance wasn't the biggest dance in the production because that was given to Lucy and Loke, but it was a dance all the same! I heard Natsu sigh.

 _"No, it's not fine. I can tell that you really wanted to do this dance and I'm letting you down. I'm really sorry, but I don't think my sorry makes up for it."_ I blinked as I sat on my bed. It was like he could read my mind. But at least he did sound sorry. I even found myself forgiving him really easily.

"Natsu-san, it's fine. Juvia is sure that Natsu-san has a perfectly good reason." He sighed again and I waited patiently for him to answer.

 _"Juvia, before you transferred to our school, I had a dance partner called Lisanna. But she died...From then on I haven't danced again. I just couldn't bring myself to do it without her."_

My heart was caught in my throat. That sounded so horrible! I even felt like crying into my phone. "Natsu-san shouldn't force himself okay? Juvia will be fine. Juvia doesn't mind if she fails dance now." After hearing his reason, I really didn't mind failing. If it really hurt him that much, I guess there's no getting over it. I knew what he was going through too well.

 _"Thanks Juvia you're the best. See you at school tomorrow."_ With that, he hung up and I went on thinking about this Lisanna girl. It must have taken him a lot to tell me about her if I'd never heard of her. I sighed deeply and I pushed my phone on the floor and sprawled out on my bed. Failing my first class...great. And anyway, I don't have time to learn a new dance within a three days, that's crazy!

* * *

I went into school early the next morning to tell Mira-sensei that I wouldn't be able to dance and she should just fail me when I heard music in the hall. It sounded like salsa music...No! That was tango! But no one was doing the tango in the dance production because it was an intense dance, so who the hell is that? I walked through to the dance hall and opened the door to see...

"Natsu-san?" He couldn't hear me. He looked like he was locked up in his own little world. Eventually he saw me in the mirrors and stopped dancing sharply. He turned to me and gulped. I stared at him in awe as he tried to laugh it off.

"Oh, hey Juvia, nice morning isn't it?" He was trying to divert my mind, but I wasn't falling for it.

"Natsu-san really IS an amazing dancer, especially at the tango! Juvia can't tango to save her life!" His face went dark and I realised what I had just said. "Oh, Juvia is sorry Natsu-san!" Why was I such an idiot for? Here I was saying I couldn't save my life yet here he was with a dead friend. Am I really that heartless?

"It's okay. Maybe I can...Show you?" I looked up at him and he looked away, a small blushing settling on his cheeks.

"Is Natsu-san sure? Juvia doesn't want to push Natsu-san into something he doesn't want to do." He nodded his head at me and a new track began playing.

He started walking away from me and I followed the beat. I had seen people tango, but I'd never done it. It didn't seem like my sort of dance, but more rather someone like Lucy. She was more open about her body than I was so it was perfect for her. It was hot and sexy and very fast with vigorous movements. Also, the dance was very intimate and sexual looking. That wasn't the dance for me. I like slow things with minimal movement, like the waltz and other dances like that. They just screamed me. I took a deep breath. It was all in the hips right?

I walked in time with the beat towards him with exaggerated movements, hips swaying and arms moving by my side. I remembered a routine that I had seen many times and began to circle him. Then he grabbed my hand, pulled me away and then back into him so that my back was up against his chest but he still held my hand. I blushed at how close we were and his arm slid down to my waist. I had to resist the urge to moan.

Then he had his hand on my thigh and the fire was rekindled on my face as he brought my leg up. I had no idea that he knew I was flexible. I could tell that he had done the tango many times because he knew the moves too. Then he pushed my leg back down and I moved away from him while twisting side to the side.

He smiled at me, but there was something about this smile. It looked sexy... Oh God, did I just say that about _Natsu?_ Then the real dance began. He came closer, put his hand on my hip and grabbed my other hand before we started twisting and turning, dipping and raising me up into the air as I twisted over and around his shoulders. I never knew he was so strong before! By the time the song ended, my right leg was around his waist, his hands were on my butt and my hands were around his neck as we were both close to each other, our breaths mingling.

"Natsu-san, that was amazing," I panted. He grinned at me yet again and my heart just felt like jumping out of my chest.

"Not so bad yourself for someone who has never done the tango." I should have been thinking about Gray, not Natsu. I just couldn't get him out of my head. In Gray's case, he was more or less forced to dance as he had lost a bet to someone, but Natsu danced willingly with so much passion! He was like a flame.

I just didn't want to let him go because I knew that if I did, there was no way he was ever going to dance with me. At least I could savour this moment. But then I thought of his dead dancing partner and I immediately pulled away. As soon as I did, he gave me a hurt look before masking it.

"Juvia is sorry Natsu-san, Juvia shouldn't have forced you into dancing with her." I turned away from him as I picked up my school bag. I remembered that I still needed to speak with Mira-sensei about the showcase when Natsu's voice stopped me.

"If anything, I forced you into dancing with me. It was...fun. I had forgotten how great it was to dance and for you to know one of the fastest tango routines there is, you made it even better. About Lisanna, well I know she wouldn't have wanted her death to cause the death of me dancing. I'll dance with you at the showcase. We can even do this routine if you want."

I turned to face him in surprise. He was now ready to dance? Gosh, he should really learn to make up his mind! He grinned at me. "Meet me at the school gates after school. I wanna show you something." He grabbed his bag and the school bell went. I blinked. Beginning of school already? "I'll see you later, Juvia."

There was something about the way he said my name that just made me blush. "Sure thing Natsu-san." Before he left me in the hall, he turned to me one last time. My breath was caught in my throat. His pink hair was falling in his face in all the right angles. I was glad he wasn't one of Lucy's little love boys.

"You can drop the -san you know. I don't need that sort of respect." Like that, he was gone. I quickly grabbed my bag and headed out of the opposite door and headed to my first class.

* * *

So how was that? Did you guys enjoy reading that as much as I enjoyed writing it? I've literally been working on this story since like the beginning of last year. I think. I will have to check when I created this document lol. I wanted to release it as a sorry for being away for so long!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods. Reviews are great as well as my love for you guys!

Lolita-chan


	2. Chapter 2

Hey Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So how have you all been? I know, you guys have been waiting a while for this story to be updated, I'm sorry that it took longer than I thought. I'm here for it now though! I am so happy with the feedback that I'm getting! It makes me really happy to know that people really do like reading this! Thank you for the support!

I may have to warn you though, Gray is an utter bastard in this chapter and I'm sorry I made him that way! It just had to flow through with it!

Like I own Fairy Tail lol. Yeah right.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **I don't dance**

 **Chapter two**

All day throughout class, I wasn't concentrating. I couldn't help but think about what had happened in the morning. I had not only done the tango for the first time in my life and actually enjoyed it, but I had done the dance with one of the school's sexiest fighter guys. _Maybe I could find myself getting over Gray. I mean, is it too fast to get over a guy? I'm not really sure, but all I knew is I'm glad to finally do so._

"Juvia, are you okay? You've been spacing out for majority of class." I looked up to see Levy hugging her books to her chest and looking down at her friend worriedly. I smiled at her.

"Of course Levy-chan! Juvia is just fine! Why does Levy ask?" I saw Levy wave around the classroom as though she was presenting me with something, and I blushed when I realised that there was no one there.

"Class is over?" Levy giggled and nodded as I quickly gathered up my things.

"So what's on your mind?" I didn't really feel like talking about it. I had learnt from the last time that stalking a guy and fangirling about him all the time was a really bad way to go about a crush. Now I'll just keep silent and see where this time with Natsu will take me. After all, I have a feeling that Lisanna was more than a _friend._

"Nothing that Juvia feels comfortable with sharing. Sorry Levy-chan." She pouted at me before Gajeel caught her attention and she said bye to me before they walked over to their next class.

I made my way over to my next class which was English literature. That was when I realised something. Wasn't Natsu in that class? I only knew that because Natsu and Gray were always arguing so much and I was always staring at Gray, hoping he would win the fight. I stepped into class and everyone was looking at me and Natsu had a little smirk on his face.

"Juvia is sorry she's late." The man rolled his eyes before I walked over to the only empty seat. Our seating plan changed every lesson as no one was bothered to stay in the same seats all the time. I wanted to laugh at how fate was being so stupid. The empty seat was next to Natsu.

I put all my stuff down by Natsu and then pulled out the seat, only to find that Natsu had already pulled it out for me. I smiled at him and he mocked me by bowing his head.

"Okay, Natsu-san can stop now." He grinned at me, a glint running through his eye.

"Aww, but I didn't really feel like it. But just for you, I'll stop." I looked at our teacher and he was droning on, looking bored about what he was teaching. "Looking at the old man to see if we'll get in trouble for talking? C'mon Juvia, we won't." I blushed, wondering how he had worked out what I was thinking.

"What does Natsu-san want to talk about with Juvia anyway? We never spoke before." He sighed deeply and I wondered if I asked a stupid question.

"Isn't it obvious? You're going to be my dance partner to one of the world's most sexiest dances ever and we've never even worked together. I think we should get to know each other a bit better." He shifted in his chair so that he was now facing me head on and I turned to look at his dark eyes staring at me intensely. It made me feel uncomfortable.

"There is nothing for Natsu-san to know! After the dance, Natsu and Juvia will go off back to their normal lives." Well that was going to be hard for me considering that my life had been revolving around Gray and I was trying my ultimate best to forget about him. Natsu's eyebrow shot up at me as he kept on staring at me.

"Is that what you really think?" There was something laced in between his words and that was amusement. I couldn't help but blush. He was making me uncomfortable.

"W-well doesn't Natsu think that we would?" He smirked and shook his head before sitting back in his chair, not really answering my question. I sighed and decided to drop our conversation there. There are literally some boys that just make your head want to explode. Some not in the best way ever and Natsu was one of them, only it felt good, like I wanted to know more about what was going on in his own head.

* * *

I couldn't find Levy or Gajeel at lunch and I knew that Gajeel probably made Levy skip with him or something. I slammed the door to my locker shut and when I did I jumped when I saw Natsu standing right there, grinning at me. My hand flew to my heart as I panted. "Gosh Natsu-san really scared Juvia!" He grinned at me and I rolled my eyes as I started walking away from him. "What does Natsu-san want anyway?" He walked in step with me, his hands behind his head like they always are.

"I was just wondering when we'll have time to practice. I mean, the dance is in...three days?" I nodded my head at him.

"Yeah, three days..." I sighed and he looked down at me. "What, you having second thoughts already?" I shook my head vigorously.

"No no! It's just...The dance is tango and it's not the type of dance for Juvia at all. Maybe Juvia will just pull out and fail-"

Natsu grabbed my shoulders and turned me so that I was now looking at him. The motion was so fluid that I honestly thought we were going to start doing the tango or something. He gave me a stunned look. "You ARE good and there's something I have to tell you... I wasn't so sure if I should tell you this because you won't believe me, but I'm going to tell you anyway because you deserve the truth."

I stood there looking at him so puzzled as he drew in his breath. "Gray's aunt Ur isn't having her funeral this Thursday. She died five years ago and it's not the anniversary either because the five year anniversary happened 6 months ago. In other words, Gray is just lying to you." It took me some time to register the news, but eventually I gasped as my hand flew to my mouth, tears starting to gather in my eyes. I wanted to yell and say it wasn't true, that Gray would never lie to me, but of course he would. We weren't going out and I guess he was willing to do anything to not have to dance with me. I was a freak who was in love with him.

"Hey don't cry. Don't you worry, we'll dance together and show Gray what he's missing out on, deal?" The tears streamed down my face and his hand wiped them away. I moved my head away from him.

"Leave Juvia alone please. She just needs to clear her head." He shook his head at me and grabbed my hand, pushing me through multiple doors until we were outside.

He stood next to me as I cried my eyes out. He even offered to hug me which I was happy for. After some time, I got over myself, my eyes still raw from the tears I just cried. "Why couldn't he just tell Juvia that he didn't want to dance with her? Knowing this is just embarrassing." I was quite happy because Natsu had decided to stay with me. I don't know what I would have done if he wasn't here.

"I don't know, after all you seem like an amazing person. He's just being a dick." I laughed a little bit at his choice words for Gray and nodded my head. "Besides, it's never good to keep things bottled up and stay by yourself. You seem like the type who needs a lot of attention, even when you don't want it."

I blushed and shook my head. "Juvia doesn't need attention, she's fine the way she is." He looked me in the eyes.

"Yeah, you do." There was something about the way he said it that made me shiver and look away from him, my face heating up slightly. We were arguing over the stupidest thing here! I decided not to speak and we just sat there in silence until Natsu cleared his throat, ready to talk again.

"So about us practicing... I was thinking you just come over to my house tonight and we go through the whole routine. Seeing as you claim to _not_ know how to do the tango, we just do what we did this morning." The thought of this morning came rushing back into my head and another blushed took over my face once again. Natsu just laughed and poked my cheeks.

"You blush so easily, it's cute." Cue blush. I had never been called cute before. It was always Lucy who got the attention, and other girls, never me. I put my hand on my chest wondering why the hell my heart was beating so fast. I mean, I never felt this way with Gray. Whatever. Just ignore it Juvia. I noticed him writing something pretty fast on a piece of paper before he shoved it into my hand. I looked at it and I had to say, I wasn't expecting such nice handwriting from one of the messiest fighters of the school.

"That's my address if you didn't already realise that. Just come over anytime tonight and we can practice." I scowled at him showing that I did indeed know that it was address, only I clearly wasn't concentrating on that.

"Juvia didn't think that Natsu would have such nice handwriting." He blinked before smiling.

"Yup, I'm just full of surprises right? Lisanna taught me how to write like that. She hated my old handwriting, and so did I."

I hated this. Every time we spoke of something, it was like it was always going to come back to Lisanna. The pit of regret started churning in my stomach. Just as I was about to open my mouth to apologize, Natsu flashed me a dark look. "Hey, you didn't know okay? I know that you're going to apologize for bringing it up, but you didn't know okay? Besides, I've more or less gotten over it. You're actually the only person I talk to about Lisanna." He shrugged at me and I just stared at him sadly.

"Whenever Natsu wants Juvia to shut up, just tell her okay?" He laughed before looking thoughtful.

"Why do you speak in third person?" I knew this question was going to pop up one day, I didn't think it was going to be this early though. Maybe I wasn't ready to talk about it. But then again, Natsu said that he had never spoken about Lisanna to any other person so maybe I should pay him back the favour and speak of my past.

"When Juvia was younger she used to get bullied a lot and she had absolutely no friends. Because of that, Juvia spoke in third person as though someone was always talking to her. Basically, Juvia was always talking to herself." I gave him a weak and humourless smile as he just looked at me with a blank look. I looked away, deciding to stare at his address to keep me from looking at his face.

"Juvia, look at me." His voice was soft and it made me look up even though I really didn't want to. He gave me a soft smile and I don't know why, but it made me want to cry. I didn't deserve such a smile. "That was in the past. Don't even look at the future right now, look in the present. You've got me, I'm a friend right? And I've seen you hang out with Levy and Gajeel. You don't ever have to feel that way again alright?" I nodded my head entranced by the look in his eyes. "Now come on, let's go to lunch. I'm hungry."

I rolled my eyes with a smile as I followed him back into the main building so that we could go and eat before lunch was over. And trust me, with all the dancing I do, I always needed to eat because it took a lot more out of me than people thought. We got down to eat and I had a full shepherds pie right in front of me plus some strawberry cheesecake. I took in a deep breath as the aroma of the food was getting to me.

I ate my way through the chicken pie and gravy before eating my cake and chugging down my water. I finished feeling content and noticed that Natsu was staring at me. I blinked at him. "What? Is there something on Juvia's face?" I started rummaging through my bag trying to look for my mirror to see if there was something on my face.

"You actually ate! Wow, can't believe there's a girl like that these days!" I gave him a weird look as I slowly stopped looking through my bag.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He pointed at my empty plate.

"C'mon, most girls these days don't wanna eat. They think it's sexy to look like a pack of bones. They need to get it into their heads that it ain't pretty." I nodded my head.

"But it's hard. Juvia doesn't know why girls have this innate tendency to try and look beautiful all the time. Juvia used to have an eating disorder, but she got over it now." I shrugged my shoulders taking a sip on my water as I watched Natsu finish his meal. He gave me a guilty look as though to apologize and I waved it off. The bell rang signalling the end of lunch. We both stood up before he grinned at me.

"See ya later then." He grabbed up his bag and swung it onto one shoulder as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and started walking away.

I couldn't help but watch his back. He looked like such a troublemaker. Not the typical bad boy, but the boy who just wants to have a laugh all the time and is always fidgeting. Must have been a handful of a child when he was younger. I shook my head to stop myself from looking at him as I stood up and pulled up my bag to head over to my next lesson.

I was walking through the hallway when Mira-sensei saw me and she smiled brightly at me. I couldn't help but smile back at her, I mean how could you not? "Juvia, have you found a partner yet? I'm really sorry about Gray's pulling out and you're one of our best dancers to be honest." I blushed. Seriously, what was up with all these compliments lately? I nodded my head at the sweet woman.

"In fact Juvia has! She's going to be the tango with Natsu-san!" She looked shocked from the moment I said I would be doing the tango, and it seemed to grow when I mentioned Natsu's name.

"Natsu...dancing? That's a shock...He hasn't danced ever since my sister...died..." Now it just looked like she was talking more to herself than actually to me. I then backtracked.

"Wait. Lisanna was your sister, Mira-sensei?" She nodded giving me a sad smile. Right now, I knew I was going to be so late to my next lesson but who cares? I was already doing well in class, one lesson wouldn't hurt.

"Yeah she was. Her and Natsu were the best of friends. Honestly I thought they would start dating! But I think it's because they loved each other on a brother and sister basis. Like you and Gajeel." I nodded, understanding it fully. Me and Gajeel had been together for so many years that it was weird remembering that he actually wasn't my blood brother. I had gotten so used to calling him brother it would be weird not to think of him as it.

"What was she like Mira-sensei?" She chuckled.

"Now, because she was my little sister I might sound biased, but she truly was a sweet girl. I saw her talking to everyone and she never had any problems with anyone! It was a shame that she contracted leukemia before we had time to react and sake her. May her soul rest in peace in paradise." I shifted before asking another question.

"Can Juvia see a picture of her?" She nodded as though she was happy I asked.

"Yeah sure! Here." She brought out her purse and handed me a picture of her. It seemed more recent than I thought it would be and it was of her, Mira-sensei and another bigger and bulkier guy with white hair. I suspected he was their brother.

"Wow, she looks so much like Mira-sensei but with short hair!" She smiled fondly before I took back the picture. "She is really pretty, Juvia sends her very late condolences." She thanked me before straightening herself.

"For you to be able to get Natsu out of his depression state and get him back into dancing, I have to thank you. He is so talented and the way he threw everything away broke my heart. I'm sure Lisanna wouldn't want him to do that. Thank you Juvia."

I shook my head telling her it wasn't a problem before she wrote me a note. The hallway was now silent and dead. "Here, just give this to your next teacher to say that I called you away. This way you won't get in any trouble." I thanked her again before I started walking off and she was walking back to the dance studio.

* * *

I was standing outside of Natsu's house ready to knock on the door when it opened before my hand could come in contact. Standing right in front of me was Gray Fullbuster, the man of my dreams. He was dark haired and moody. I smiled at him, my heart jumping just a little bit. Before I could say anything, he swore.

"FUCK! Now the crazy bitch knows where I live! Why did you stalk me here?!" He looked pretty mad and I looked pretty confused. What the hell was he talking about? Actually, you know what? I'm so glad I'm giving up on this jerk!

"What is Gray talking about, Juvia came here for Natsu! We're working together on something!"

He gave me a skeptical look before the said boy showed up behind him. "Gray, just calm down not every girl wants you, geez." Natsu was glaring at him which strangely enough gave him this hot look. I shook my head trying to stop these thoughts.

"You don't know this girl Natsu. She won't fucking stop stalking me! She's so creepy and she thinks I don't even know. She doesn't even get the hint that I don't like her. I should've gotten a restraining order on her a long time ago!"

That hurt, a lot. He was talking like I wasn't even here and he ignored me. What, did he think that I had no feelings or something? Before the tears could build up, I looked at Natsu. "Maybe we should just do this tomorrow instead, Juvia can see she's not wanted here."

Natsu shook his head, his glare intensifying on Gray. "Let's just leave this cold bastard alone while he goes and takes that stick outta his ass. He can't talk about you like that as though you aren't here. Gray just fuck off to where you were going. He doesn't even live here." Natsu took my hand as Gray was grumbling before he left the house. Natsu sighed feeling really frustrated.

"Sorry about that, you didn't deserve those harsh words." I shook my head trying to hold a small smile on my face.

"It's okay, it's not Natsu-san's fault. Wasn't really expecting for you to be living with him though. Next time give Juvia a heads up." He smiled at me before leading me to the back.

"You ready to practice?" He said as he was putting his iPod on the speaker docks and turning to me. I took in a deep breath and nodded suddenly feeling in the zone.

"Yeah."

We danced for ages and it was a wonder that Natsu's arms didn't get tired from holding me up in the air. He must lift weights everyday or something because I was so sure I wasn't one of the lightest girls on earth. I was constantly blushing when Natsu's hand was caressing my body.

"Want a drink?" I nodded my head feeling so out of breath while I followed him into the kitchen. He placed some glass in front of me before filling it up with water and I gulped it all down. "I would give you something to eat but I'm sure as hell that we're ordering out tonight as usual." I shook my head.

"That's not the life for two growing young men! Let me see what you guys have here and I'll make something out of that. If you want, I can even cook you guys stuff when I get home and give it to you." He didn't look too sure.

"I don't wanna bother you, I mean won't that be too much on you?" I laughed and shook my head as I started to dig around the fridge.

"I'm used to it, living with my brother and all. Next to dancing, I also love cooking. See, that's another thing you know about me." I pulled out some random stuff before setting them down on the counter. He grinned.

"Thanks Juvia, you're amazing you know." For the past day this was all I was hearing. I didn't know how girls could ever stand getting compliments all the time. It made my cheeks light up in colour as I could feel the heat from my blush rising to the surface to meet my skin.

"Aww, no Juvia is not."

"Aww but yes you are. Now hurry up, I'm starving." He laughed when I grabbed his tea towel and started flicking it at him as he tried to run away. I just shook my head at him as I left him to make the meal.

He was quiet for ages that I forgot that he was even here, even though it was his house. Then I saw him out of the corner of my eye watching me make the food. "That smells amazing." I don't know why it made me blush, but it did. I looked up at him to see how close he was to me. I had to turn my head away from him before I would start fainting. I had never been this close to a guy that wasn't Gajeel before and this was just too much for me.

"Natsu should move before Juvia burns herself." Maybe that would get him off my back, literally. It did and I finally had enough air to actually breathe.

When I finished, I was able to serve up the food. I placed the food in front of him and he immediately started eating as though he was being starved. I smiled before I cleared up my mess. "Natsu should be thinking of getting more ingredients, otherwise he'll be hungry." He just nodded his head, concentrating on eating.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" He asked me after he finished his mouthful. I looked at him and shook my head. He frowned and offered me some of his food. "Well you can't just come to my house, cook for me and not eat, right?"

"It's okay Natsu-san. Juvia has to get home and cook for Gajeel-kun too. But wait, it's Tuesday, he's probably on a date with Levy. Eh, Juvia needs to get home anyway. School and stuff tomorrow. Juvia will see Natsu-san later." I gave him a smile before I went to go get my stuff ready to leave. I heard lots of clattering about in the kitchen and some water running before I saw him standing in front of me.

"Hey I'll walk you home then! For you know, company. Must get boring walking by yourself." He literally jumped into his shoes and I just put my hand on my face to hide my blush.

"Let's go!"

I followed him as we left his house and he started humming to himself. I couldn't help but watch him out of the corner of my eye. You would have never realised that he had lost his best friend 2 years ago, a girl that he saw as his sister. Imagine losing your sister. I don't know what I would do if Gajeel died. I don't think I would ever be the same again. He still managed to keep a happy face, an upbeat life. You would have never known that a tragedy struck his life.

I had come to admire that. He was able to be happy! I wanted to be like that. I wasn't jealous of him, but I wanted to be able to be strong like him. "How did you and Gajeel meet?"

I wasn't ready for the question and almost jumped out of my skin.

"Oh, um, Juvia and Gajeel have been best friends since we were young. Why does Natsu-san live with Gray-san? Doesn't Gray-san have his own family?" It still hurt to talk about Gray after the way he lied to me and treated me. It was so painful, his words cut in deep. He had sped up the process in her liking him because now, she was definitely never going to fawn over him again.

"His mum and aunt Ur died, his dad is off on business trips most of the time and he hates his older cousins. He thought it was okay to crash in with me because he wanted to. Arsehole, he's so lucky that I don't lock him out one day. Tch, jerk."

Juvia nodded her head vigorously, agreeing totally with his words. Natsu seemed to notice and he looked ahead of him. "I'm sorry that Gray was an arsehole to you. I wish I could have had the time to punch his lights out! I know I might be clueless half the time, but I know you're to never be rude to a girl. Unless she's Erza and she have the world under her foot because she can hurt any man."

Juvia giggled at the comment about Erza. "Juvia doesn't mind. Gray-san has just been freaked out by Juvia many times, of course he would be bitter to Juvia."

"Yeah, but he shouldn't have been bitter at all. He could have let you down gently or something. Besides, what sick bastard uses his dead aunt as some excuse? I should fucking castrate him because he isn't man enough about feelings around him."

Juvia just watched Natsu getting angry for her and she smiled lightly, appreciating it a lot. She placed her hand on his shoulder in an act of kindness. "Thanks for caring, Natsu."

He shrugged at her with a grin. "It was nothing I guess. You're a friend of mine, I gotta care right?" Juvia looked away and pouted. " _Yeah, just friends."_

They continued their journey in a comfortable silence.

* * *

So there you have it, the second chapter nailed and there! I told you I made Gray into such a bastard, sorry! I hope that didn't make you think any less of me though!

watch?v=4kRcCsPtKlA This is the link to the tango video that inspired me to write this fanfic! I forgot to post it up on the last chapter. If it doesn't work, I'll put it on my profile for all to see!

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Send a review for me to send my love!

Lolita-chan


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So I've finally decided to update this story! Sorry for taking so long, I don't even know why it did. I had this chapter ready ages ago!

We all know the disclaimers, and I apologize for my crappy spelling and awful grammar in advance!

ENJOY!

* * *

 **I don't dance**

 **Chapter three**

I was doing my stretches for the dance practice. The dance performance was now two days away and everything had to be spot on and perfect. The stage was being set, so we all had to go and dance in the dance studio. Although Gray wasn't dancing on the night, it was still his lesson time that he had to come to if he still wanted to pass the class.

I looked at him before turning and sighing. I couldn't remember what I saw in him. His cold words still struck my heart in ways that was so painful and the fact that he used his dead aunt to lie to me was just foul and sick. He just had to say that he didn't want to dance with me. Well screw him anyway, I don't even care. Well, I sort of do, but not as much now.

"Hey Juvia, why are you still here if you haven't got a partner for the dance?" Natsu didn't feel like coming to dance practice where a whole of people would be, so he said that he would come after so that we can practice.

I just smiled at the Loke, the school's biggest ladies man. I must be one of the only girls that he has never tried to ask on a date or maybe even considered getting in a relationship with because he thought I was weird. That must be a partial excuse as I'm not remotely pretty too.

"Just trying to pass the class Loke." He shrugged at me before going over to talk to Lucy and Gray. I sighed before continuing my stretches. There was no way I was going to get an injury when I had to do the _tango._ My stretching was essential.

So while Mira-sensei went over the programme and everyone did their part, my phone buzzed, making me frown. Levy was in class, Gajeel smashed his phone and I don't have any friends willing to contact me. Oh wait there's always...

 _Natsu._

I smiled at the caller id, happy that Natsu was thinking about me right now. I blushed at that thought before reading his text.

 _How's dance? Hope that jerk ain't givin you no problems!_

I laughed softly at the text before punching in my own reply. He always knew how to make me feel better whenever I thought of the horrible things that Gray said to me. It was weird though, how Natsu was able to tell that I was feeling upset now.

 _Dance is okay, Loke just came up to Juvia to ask why she's still here if she's not dancing anymore._

 _Even in a text you still type in third person, cute. Well Loke can go and fuck himself because we're going to surprise them all and have the best dance ;)_

I don't know why the little emoticon of him winking at me made me blush, but it did. Also the fact that he doesn't mind it when I speak in third person and actually finds it cute made me blush too.

 _Juvia will tell him that lol. Isn't Natsu-san supposed to be in class?_

 _Naah, got in a fight so I just left old man Dreyar's office. I'll just head down to the dance studio now._

I sighed and rolled my eyes, setting my phone down and waited for his arrival. Natsu was a lost cause when it came to him and fighting. He loved it so much that you would think the guy was an underground street fighter or something. Trust me, if those rumours started spreading like a forest fire, I would believe it right off the bat.

I looked up to see that Lucy and Loke were now doing their dance and I noticed that Lucy wasn't as great as I thought she was. She was very stocky with her moves, almost as though she _couldn't_ move and Loke was secretly out of step to the untrained eye. I felt like falling about with laughter, but I settled for a cheek aching smile instead.

"Juvia! Look what I have for you!" Mira-sensei started running towards me with a large bag in her hand. I raised my eyebrow at it before standing up to grab a hold of it when she handed it to me.

"It's your outfit along with Natsu's. It was just a quick last minute order ever since you told me yesterday that he was your new dance partner! Take a look!"

I was excited to see what I would be wearing for the dance. My order for the winter waltz had been cancelled ever since Gray bailed on me. I gave the bag back to her and I held out my dress, my mouth in an 'o' shape and my eyes staring at it in awe. Of course the dress was red, it had jewels running down the left side of it. The dress was also very short, almost like a fairy's tutu. There was a spaghetti strap on one side while the other side was strapless.

"No way! Mira-sensei, Juvia loves it so much, thank you!" I couldn't help but hug the young teacher and she just grinned.

"That's okay Juvia. You deserve it. You're the only one who takes this class seriously. I think everyone else is just here for an easy class and something that they won't fail in. I'm pretty sure half of the guys are here to see the girls in short dresses."

I laughed at that and she gave me a soft look. "Also, for pulling Natsu out of his dancing funk. His talent shouldn't go to waste. His outfit is in the bag to, so give that to him for me okay?"

I nodded and put my dress back in the bag. It was so beautiful I just wanted to stare at it all the time! I couldn't believe I was going to be dancing in something like that. The thought of it just made me grin.

"Also, how good are you at dancing in high heels?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Juvia is decent at it. Depends on the heels."

"I would say kitty heels, but I checked all the local shops and they all told me it's out of fashion. The dance store was also sold out. I think the only thing you can wear are stilettos..."

"Juvia can make it, don't worry."

I actually wasn't sure. I've danced in heels many times, but it was just the thought of the stage where it might be slippery, I just didn't really want to take that risk and embarrass myself. I would never be able to live it down and surprisingly, kids actually came to watch our dance productions. Embarrassing myself in front of a good majority of the school wouldn't be the wisest of ideas. I mean, how could NO SHOP sell kitten heels right now?! Are they out to get me?!

Just as I turned around, I noticed Natsu heading in my direction from a door on the other side of the stage. I smiled at him and he grinned back at me before coming to stand over me. Mira-sensei brightened up visibly.

"Natsu! It's really good to see you back here. Lisanna would be so happy right now."

Natsu's grin became a soft smile as he turned his attention to Mira-sensei. "That's okay Mira, I guess Lisanna would be happy huh? I'm going to visit her grave...Oh wait, it's the same day as the dance production isn't it?" Mira gave him a nod, a sad look in her eyes even though there was a smile on her face.

"Yeah, you know how much she loved to dance, I thought I would put the production on that day as a memory. Anyway, I'm glad that you're dancing with Juvia. She's my star pupil you know. I haven't met anyone here in the dancing club with more passion to dance than Juvia ever since Lisanna passed away."

"That's cool Mira. You'll see, we're gonna be the best, riiight Juvia?" He slung his arms over my shoulder and put his head next to mine as he grinned a large toothy grin. I couldn't help but blush and turn my head away from him. I saw Mira smirk out of the corner of my eye as though she knew something that I didn't.

"Well that's good then. Take good care of her Natsu!" Mira-sensei walked off, leaving Natsu to wave at her and I almost choked on the air I was breathing. No way! Did she mean what I thought she meant? That woman, always into the latest gossip of the newest couples and she tried to keep her eyes out for couples that were on the horizon. There is no way Natsu and I are one of them.

"Mira-sensei bought our outfits. They're in this bag." I noticed Lucy looking over at us so I pushed his hand away from the bag. "Don't worry, Juvia will give Natsu his outfit afterwards."

I noticed his face as he frowned at what I did before he too saw Lucy's face and he understood it. "Oh, thanks, didn't want a group of people asking me why I'm over here dancing again and stuff."

I laughed before the bell above us started ringing, making me jump out of my skin and Natsu laughed. I glared at him before I saw everyone running off to go and change. Natsu and I didn't have a class right now meaning it was okay for us to stay back. Mira-sensei came back and sat down where the crowd would be sitting and she called out to us.

"Okay, your dance is going to be the last dance where the guy finally gets the girl he wants and there is passion and fire and looove!" We watched with a sweatdrop as Mira-sensei was then standing up and making all these crazy and dramatic hand gestures. I blushed when she spoke about the love part. I looked up at Natsu and he had rolled his eyes, a smile lingering on his face.

"Okay! Play back!"

One of the stage directors started playing our song that I had given him and I turned to face Natsu, sighing as I did so. It was time to dance.

* * *

I met up with Levy and Gajeel before they were about to leave the school building. "Hey you guys!" Levy turned her head to look at me before she grinned.

"Hey, look Gajeel, it's the girl who has found a better friend than us." I rolled my eyes at her before hitting her with my chemistry book.

"Levy-chan knows that Juvia is just hanging out with Natsu because he's Juvia's partner for dance. Our competition is still on. Juvia is not getting anything less than an A this year."

"Oh yeah? Well I'm not losing this year either!"

"I'm dating a nerd and my sister's one too. What the fuck did I do to deserve this?" Levy and I smirked at each other before we smacked him with our books. He jumped before grumbling and rubbed his arms, cursing at us under our breath. Levy jumped onto his back kissed his cheek making me look away. One because it was making me gag at how lovey dovey they were getting and two, because I wasn't the one jumping onto someone's back and giving them a kiss on the cheek. Someone being Natsu.

My face then flared up as the blood rushed straight to my face. I rested a hand on my cheek as I couldn't believe my own thoughts. How could I even think about Natsu look like that?! I looked over at Levy and Gajeel again and they looked like they were in their own little world. If I was to leave now, they wouldn't even know.

"Guys, Juvia is going home now, she thinks she might be sick." I wasn't _really_ going to be sick, but I wanted to see if they would actually hear me. No such luck, because then they were laughing at one another. I just rolled my eyes before walking away from them. I thought about going home, but then it would be really boring and I would do nothing. I had no homework that was due in tomorrow so there was no point. I had nowhere else to hang out so...

I instantly thought of the one place that I hadn't been in ages. I smiled as I thought of what once used to be my home because I was there every time. It used to be my life, my passion and a hobby that I enjoyed more than dancing.

I was going swimming.

~x~

Swimming is how my parents first met. My dad wanted to be a swimming coach so he was doing his qualifications and was an 'apprentice' to the top coach. My mother was an excellent swimmer who could have very well made it into the Olympics and she did. My father was helping to coach my mother's team when they first met. It was love at first sight.

So eventually they got married and obviously, when they had me, I became a swimmer and probably the best kid my age too. The water was second nature to me and it was my home. It was the only thing I could ever rely on.

Until, they died in a plane crash. They were heading overseas to a swimming competition when the plane crashed somehow. That ended my dreams in wanting to swim. I found my passion in dancing instead, never looking back at the swimming pool or the ocean.

Until today. I don't really know why I wanted to go swimming after all this time, but I guess it's because I wanted to get over my fear again. That and I thought that if Natsu could go back to dance after his best friend died, I can go back to swimming after my parents had died. It was time to get over my fear.

Until today. I don't really know why I wanted to go swimming after all this time, but I guess it's because I wanted to get over my fear again. That and I thought that if Natsu could go back to dance after his best friend died, I can go back to swimming after my parents had died. It was time to get over my fear.

I had on my blue swimsuit because I wasn't a fan of bikinis at all. They felt so exposed and disgusting, they just weren't for me.

Levy had bought me a swimsuit a few months ago when she had finally helped me get over my fear of swimming pools. Well she had tried to anyway. Well she had tried to anyway. She helped me realise that my parents wouldn't want me to give up my passion just because they're no longer here, much like Natsu giving up his passion for dance.

I pulled on my goggles before slipping into the water. It was cold and it made me shiver, but then I got used to it. It warmed up around me and I started swimming. It had been a while and I felt so rusty with my swimming. I was trying to think of what I wanted to do when I saw someone doing the butterfly.

His arms were so strong looking and his muscles weren't overly bulky. He was moving with quite a speed as well. My jaw dropped. There was no way I could get myself back up to that level!

Then he stopped when he had finished his length. My mouth dropped open when I saw who it was. _Natsu._

He stood up in the water and I couldn't help but noticed his now exposed chest and how defined his abs looked. I blushed to myself and tried to look away, but it was very hard. His wet salmon coloured hair was a mess but it looked good. Like _really_ good.

Finally, I managed to pull my eyes away from him. I went to the wall and pushed myself off, starting with a simple front crawl. I still had the speed and the stamina and it was clear that it was from all the dancing that I do. The water felt so cool and it made me wonder why I had even given up.

I made myself go through with five lengths before stopping to catch my breath. When I did, Natsu was next to me, staring.

"Juvia?"

I blushed and looked up at him. I didn't even have to fully extend my arm for me to be touching him. I nodded at him before standing to my full height. "Hey Natsu-san, Juvia didn't know that you swim."

He shrugged simply. "Yeah, I found out that it's a really cool way to build up stamina. That and there was that one time I almost drowned and Gray would never let me live it down so I took up swimming lessons to make sure that never happens again." He blushed as he was recalling that memory for me and I did nothing but coo at him, as though to mock him.

"S-stop that!"

"Aww, but it's so cute!"

He huffed and turned his head away from me as I took this as the time to ogle at his body. He was so summer perfect and it made me really self conscious as to whether I too were hot enough to hang around with him. He was out of my league. I was that girl with the same amount of friends that a fork had teeth and I was quiet a good majority of the time.

"Anyway, Juvia better leave Natsu to it."

"Nah, I'm done anyway. I was just watching you."

I stared at him with my mouth hanging open before he looked like he was getting flustered. "Because you know, you swim really well! I wasn't being creepy or anything." He started scratching the back of his head it actually made him look really cute. I just smiled at him.

"It's okay, Juvia understands and she thanks Natsu for the compliment. Well Juvia has done enough swimming for one day." I looked at the poolside clock and I had actually been here for an hour and a half which was more than enough for the first day back to swimming after so many years.

"So should we go then?"

I nodded my head at him and he held my head and took us out of the pool. I looked down at our hands and I blushed as we made our way to our lockers to get our stuff. I heard this woman that was next to us mumbling to her husband, "what a cute little couple. Remember when we were that young honey?"

I spluttered and was about to tell them that we weren't dating, but Natsu had to then step in. "Hehe, thanks."

My eyes widened as I stared up at him. Did he even know what he was saying?! Did he actually even know what being a couple meant?! I could feel my face turning red as I had to let go of his hand to unlock my locker.

"Juvia is going to change and see Natsu-san later okay?" He nodded at me before I went to go and find a cubicle to change in.

As soon as I locked the door, I started gasping as though I couldn't believe it. It's only been like what, like two days?! I'm not going to find myself falling in love with any person who isn't Gray. As much as the guy hurt me, I can't really give up that quickly can I?

"Hey Juvia? Are you done yet?"

I jumped at the sound of his voice outside my cubicle and I realised that I hadn't even dried myself down yet. "Erm, Juvia will be done soon!"

I started rushing to try and make sure that he wouldn't have to make sure that he ha to wait a long time for me. As soon as I was done, I had to mentally prep myself before going out to face him. Taking a deep breath, I saw his face.

"You ready?" I nodded at him and he grinned. Kami that _grin_! Why does it seem to work wonders on my heart? "I was thinking that maybe if you're not tired, we can come back to mine and practice a bit more. I mean, we've got two days to get this down now."

"Is Gray home?"

There was no way I was going to get a repeat of what happened yesterday. Anyone must think I'm stupid to let that happen again, which it won't. He frowned as shook his head.

"Nah, he went to go and visit his cousins. Probably sucking up to them for some money before his weekly allowance comes in from his dad."

I raised an eyebrow, for some strange reason, I was getting pissed off. "Why the hell does he not live with one of them?! If he didn't live with Natsu, then Juvia wouldn't have gotten those harsh words thrown at her!"

Natsu have me a one armed hug. "They don't live here in Magnolia and he doesn't want to move schools. If you think that arsehole is stubborn, just think of what his older cousins are gonna be like. They are from the same blood and shit like that."

I shivered involuntarily as I didn't really want to think about that. I smiled up at Natsu. "Might as well practice then."

* * *

So how was that chapter? Was it good enough for ya?! Hope so!

So now you know why Juvia lives with Gajeel and a bit about her parents! I couldn't make Juvia JUST love dance, had to put in some aspects of her being a water mage in there lol.

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Reviews are awesome and so are you guys, so get reviewing you awesome people! If you loooove Navia, I suggest you go ahead and follow the community my good friend **Lanvia** made called **Spread the Navia!** As it says in the title, it's alllll about the Navia stories and if you want to be able to find them all in one place, that's what you need!

Lolita-chan


	4. Chapter 4

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita here!

So as you can probably see by the notifications you may be getting, I am currently on a roll. This roll happens every 90 days, so roughly around 3 months lol. That's not a good thing. I just want you to know that I don't completely ignore my stories, I do work behind the scenes! I work on many chapters, many new stories, it's just procrastination that makes me unable to release new chapters really. There, I said. I procrastinate!

Disclaimers yada yada yada, grammar, spelling :p

ENJOY!

* * *

 **I don't dance**

 **Chapter four**

I sighed in frustration as I angrily blew the strands of hair that was in my face. Why was I getting all the steps wrong? The dance showcase was tonight and I had overheard Mira-sensei talking and she said that there were going to be dance scouts! I need my steps to be perfect, but all I was doing was dancing with two left feet and bumping into Natsu.

"Juvia? Are you okay? Don't worry about it, we'll do fine by tonight okay." Gosh he was so patient! We both came in this morning for our last rehearsal before the show tonight and I had literally done nothing right which went against everything that we had done last night. Just as I was about to go and replay the music, Natsu hugged me from behind. I froze as he rested his chin on my shoulder, his arms around my waist. I was used to this (maybe not actually) whenever we were dancing, but when we weren't, I froze up.

"What's wrong huh? Why are you so stressed? You were amazing last night and now, well not so much. What happened in the space of time that I dropped you off at home till we started dancing now?"

I sighed as he was gently whispering in my ear. I hoped that no one would come in here right now. Well it was only 7:30, no idiot comes to school as this time when school starts at 8:45.

"Juvia overheard that there will be dance scouts and Juvia is just stressed that she won't impress them. Dancing is the only thing that Juvia is good at."

"Liar, you're good at swimming." I smiled at that.

"But Juvia hasn't done that in a long time and she hasn't thrown her time and effort into it, unlike dance."

He was silent for a bit before he started getting me to sway with him. Both of his hands had moved down to my hips as he made them move in time with him. I didn't know what he was doing, but I went along with it anyway. "Then don't think about it. Have fun, dance for now. Don't think about them, think about you and how much fun this is."

I swallowed the lump that was in my throat as I took his advice. How was he able to do this? He held my hand as he twirled me then pulled me into his chest. I raised one leg and wrapped it around his torso before he threw me over his shoulder and spun me around. I felt so free and I decided to savour this moment.

By the end of it, we were so sweaty and he grinned at me. "See? When you don't think about it, you're fucking amazing. Tonight, it's just you, me, the music and the stage. Don't think about anyone else and just dance."

I nodded my head as he released me. "Better go and shower before school starts then! See ya later!" I watched as he grabbed his bag and ran on and I smiled as I watched him leave. He was such an enigma and I could see why he was adored by everyone here.

"You two have really come a long way, even if it has been only three days. I'm impressed." I jumped at the sound of the voice from the other door and there stood Mira-sensei who was grinning at me and I blushed at her praise.

"Thank you Mira-sensei."

"That's alright Juvia. Do you know that ever since you started dancing with Natsu, he's been in less fights than ever before? He usually gets in 3 fight per class, but now he only gets in 3 fights per day! You're a really good influence on him in the short amount of time that you guys have come in contact with one another."

I realised that this was true. He had stopped getting a load of detentions and from what I heard, that was his second home. I heard about any big fiascos about how he threw some hot sauce in anyone's nose. The guy was a crazy fighter but he hadn't really done any of that lately.

"Does Mira-sensei know why that is? Juvia thought that Natsu loves to fight."

She sighed. "He really does. It was his way to vent when Lisanna died. When she died, he constantly fought and very angrily. Then he calmed down and just fought because he realised he was strong. He just fights for the hell of it now. Ever since you guys started dancing, he cut down because he doesn't want to get hurt and then have to pull out of the show. In other words, he's doing it for you."

I blinked at her before I could feel the blood in my body slowly make it's way up to my face where it stayed for a good while. What the hell was she insinuating then?! That Natsu liked me or something?! It's only been three days, you don't like someone after three days.

Unless you're me who has 'loved' Gray since day one. That's probably why I am so freaky actually, it's just not normal!

"Well...Juvia should go and shower quickly before school starts and everyone comes in." It was the best excuse that I had and she seemed to buy it for now as she dismissed me with a sunny smile.

"I know you'll do well Juvia, you're my star pupil." My heart soared as my chest swelled with pride when I hear that. That was probably one of the nicest things I've ever been told, next to Natsu calling me beautiful that is.

I blushed as I grabbed my bag. I wasn't helping my case at all! Why the hell am I thinking about Natsu for?!

I pushed the door, sighing as I made my way to the female changing rooms.

~x~

All the dancers had been excused early so that we could set the place up. Well every dancer except from Gray and Natsu. Gray because he was no longer going to be there and Natsu because no one actually knew that he was going to be dancing, so he wasn't told.

"Juvia, why are you still going? I thought Gray pulled out of it?" I turned my head, surprised that anyone was even talking to me. I found the eyes of Jenny Realight staring into mine and I raised an eyebrow. She never spoke to me, so why start now? Unless she was mocking me about it.

"Juvia didn't drop out because she will fail the class if she does. Gray-San has a reason, Juvia does not." I watched as she rolled her eyes and whispered the words 'nerd' under her breath. I stuck my tongue out at her at the back of her head before I decided to leave to help with the set up.

Natsu wasn't in my class and I didn't know what he was doing right now. I saw Lucy walking with Loke, but they were too far down the hallway for me to catch up and walk with them. Well there was that and I didn't really like Lucy much. It sounded evil of me, but I guess it's still the hate I had when I liked Gray.

I just shrugged as I followed them to the same destination, only from a distance. That was when I noticed that someone with pink hair was standing outside of one of the classrooms. The guy was on his phone and he looked up as though he had realised that I was there before he grinned at me and tucked his phone away in his pocket. I smiled back at him, his grin being infectious.

"What did Natsu do that resulted in him being thrown outside of the class this time?" I rolled my eyes at him with a smile on my face, waiting for his excuse this time around. He just smirked at me.

"You know me, always doing something that the teacher hates. So I may have made some idiot kiss my arse this time around, who cares?"

I giggled at him. He put both of his hands in his pockets and leaned on the wall next to the door to his class. His eyes were watching me and I suddenly felt so exposed. Why was he looking at me like that?

"So where are _you_ heading huh? Could it be that Juvia has finally gotten in trouble and is being sent to the principal's office?"

I shook my head, a smile still lingering on my face. "Natsu would like that wouldn't he? But no, Juvia is in no trouble. The dance lot have to help prepare for the show tonight so we have to check last minute that props are okay and lighting and staging is fine. That and we have to make sure that the programme is alright. We're on last."

He nodded, still looking cool and I had to blush and turn my head away from him. "I have somewhere to take you after school. Wanna come?"

I raised an eyebrow, and turned my head when I felt that my skin had returned back to its normal colour. "Sure. Does Juvia get to know where?"

His eyes twinkled as he winked at me and shook his head. "Nah, that would ruin the surprise. Don't worry, I'm not gonna kill ya."

That hadn't even been on my mind so why the hell was he saying that?! Was he really going to kill me?! No, of course not. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Sure, Juvia will meet Natsu at the school gates. See you later."

 **Natsu's POV**

Man she's so pretty. I can't actually remember the last time I bonded well with someone. She wasn't Lisanna that's for sure, but I didn't want her to be. Juvia was her own person and she was an amazing person at that too. Just because a friend of mine died doesn't mean I want all my future friends to be like her.

Besides, the way I loved Lisanna was the same way that I would have loved my sister, if I had one. People thought we were dating, but honestly, they can think whatever because we knew that wasn't the case. It was the same way people thought I was dating Lucy when she came to the school as well. And people say that I'm stupid when they're the ones who keep on jumping to conclusions.

But Juvia, there was just something about her that I just couldn't place. She was just sincere and she never pushed anything out of me, so I never pushed anything out of her. That's why I don't think I can forgive Gray for what he did to her. All those harsh words thrown right at her face as though she wasn't there, even though she was standing right in front of him.

That pissed me off and it still does. I can't believe she was crushing on a guy like that. I wonder if she still does, because if so, that should be enough for her to rethink.

I'm not jealous am I? I mean, sure I've dated girls, but I was starting to think about it more and more since three to four days ago. That was when I first spoke to Juvia and then three days ago, she found out that I could dance and we did my favourite style of dancing together.

I couldn't believe that I was actually going to say this, but I'm glad that I got back into dancing and it's all thanks to Juvia. There was one thing that I knew and that was that I wanted Juvia to be my girlfriend.

* * *

I looked down at the girl walking beside me and I smiled down at her. She gave me what looked like a shy smile before gripping onto her books tighter. Sometimes, it would be really helpful if there was a sign above a girl to tell you if they liked you or not because I'm not one to read signals that were actions made by girls. Some of them were just so difficult.

"Does Juvia get a clue as to where we're going?" I shook my head at her and she have me the cutest pout that I've ever seen in my life. I laughed at her but I don't think that she caught onto the fact that it was a nervous laugh.

"Nah, it's a surprise, sorry." She shrugged her shoulders as though to show me that it didn't matter that much and I just grinned.

"So, you said that you live with Gajeel, why's that? If you don't wanna tell me, I get it." She was silent for a while and I thought that she might not say anything, but then she heaved a sigh.

"Juvia's parents died in a plane crash. Juvia's mother was a swimmer and Juvia's father was her coach. They were heading to a competition in America before the plane crashed. It's kind of the reason why Juvia stopped swimming because maybe if they didn't have that competition, they would still be here. Juvia was just being stupid then, she thought that swimming was going to kill her."

She gave a bitter laugh as I noticed the tears were running down her face. She noticed me giving her a concerned look and she turned her head before trying to wipe her tears. "Don't look Natsu-san."

I stopped her hand from moving and I wiped her tears myself with my thumb. She stared into my eyes as I stared into hers as well. Her pupiless eyes were a deep blue colour as she gently sniffed. "Hey, I think you look beautiful, whether you're crying or not, but you look perfect without those tears. I'm sorry I brought it up and made you cry. I didn't know."

She have me such a bright smile as the tears were starting to dry up. "It's not Natsu-san's fault, he didn't know. J-Juvia is grateful because she has someone like Natsu-San as a friend. No one could be any better."

She jumped into my arms for a hug and I wrapped my arms around her instantly. She was so cute and her words really made me blush, even though I don't really blush. Her hair smelt so nice and I don't care if I was being weird, her hair was right there.

"Okay then, let's get going then!"

We continued on in silence and we got to the cemetery. Now Juvia had gone deathly silent as she stayed close to my arm. I remembered my little joke from before. "I'm not going to kill you Juvia."

"Of course Natsu-san wouldn't do that to Juvia. He might just bury her alive though." I laughed a little bit as we turned down some paths and made my way to the only gravestone I knew.

Lisanna's. We stood in front of it as I produced a white Lily from my pocket. For some strange reason, they were Lisanna's favourite. The only reason I'm saying it's strange is because she never told me why they were her favourite.

"Hey Lis. I brought a friend of mine to come and see you. She's really good at dancing, but she's kind of like you. She's modest and doesn't recognise that she's good as well. She also got me back into dancing as well y'know? Didn't think I was able to face the dance floor without you, but she somehow managed to become my good luck charm."

I looked out of the corner of my eye to see that Juvia was extremely red. I had to hold back my laugh because it would just ruin the whole mood. "But yeah, we have some dance production tonight and we're doing the tango. She's the only one talented enough to do it with me. You know what? You should talk to her."

Juvia looked surprised for a minute before she nodded her head. "Um, hello Lisanna-san, this is Juvia speaking. Juvia has heard so many good things about you and maybe if Juvia had arrived at the school earlier, she would have been good friends with Lisanna-san. Juvia isn't trying to take the place of Lisanna-san as she'll always be Natsu-san's original dance partner, but Juvia will try her best in order to honour Lisanna-san tonight. Oh and Juvia is sorry she has nothing to offer, this was just sprung up on Juvia."

She glared at me and I gave her an innocent smile as though I didn't know what she was talking about. We stayed there for a few minutes before I told Juvia to go. "I'm going to stay here a bit longer, you go and get ready for the show."

I saw the sadness creep into her eyes before it was gone as quickly as it came. She gave me a smile. "Okay then, Juvia will see Natsu-san later. Juvia will see Lisanna later as well." She smiled at Lisanna's gravestone as well before patting my arm.

As soon as she was gone, Mira made her own appearance as well. She smiled at me before leaving a bouquet of white lilies. Said her own little prayer and I stood by, waiting for her to finish.

"I think that Lisanna would be extremely happy for you meeting Juvia. Although she never loved you like a lover, she loved you like you were her brother. She wouldn't want you to feel bad about anything."

I just nodded my head because even though it was true, I just couldn't help myself. It was painful to lose a friend like that. I sighed before smiling.

"Yeah, I'm happy that I met Juvia too. There's just something about her..." Mira was the only one that I could talk to about things like this because I saw her sister as well. Plus, she knows a hell of a lot on what to do when it comes to someone that you're crushing on.

"I could tell that you like her. Well you know what? I say go for it. I know that Gray has already broken her heart, but you're not like him. I think she'll be happy."

Mira gave me a sisterly hug before I left her alone with Lisanna. I was going to take her advice. I was going to ask her out soon enough, but not too soon.

* * *

 **Juvia's POV**

It's now evening time and the whole stage has been set. I could already hear the parents and the other kids our age taking their place with sitting in the audience. The dance scouts were probably out there themselves. No Juvia, it's not time to think about that. Just chill like Natsu told me to.

I was already in my first costume. Usually, Mira-sensei always has a theme to our dance performance, basically a little play but in a form of a dance. This time around, this whole dance production is about a girl with inner demons who finally finds love. In the first dance, I'm playing the girl with the inner demons. Mira-sensei had stated it wouldn't be fair on just having one girl play the lead, so all the girls will have a go. Well I get two gos because of the last dance with Natsu.

I felt something reach for my hand and when I looked at what it was, I noticed that Natsu was the one to grab for it. He flashed me a smile and I gave him one back. Suddenly, I wasn't even feeling that nervous anymore.

"Hey, good luck out there tonight okay?"

I nodded at him. He was only in the dance that I was doing with him because it would have been too much learning all the dances that Gray would have been in.

"Thank you, Juvia really needs it."

He then started to produce something from his pocket and he held out my hand. "I got this for you. It's just like a good luck charm or some shit. I dunno."

He was blushing as he was putting it on my wrist and I blushed as well. It was such a cute little gesture that also meant quite a lot to me. He was so sweet. I gulped down my fears and hugged him.

"Thank you so much, Natsu-San."

I had never actually had any intimate contact with Natsu that wasn't apart of our dance and it just felt good. It was slow and I took the time to rest in a hug. The only reason we pulled apart was because we were all being called to take our positions on the stage. I smiled at him.

"Juvia will see Natsu later then."

I ran on in my ivory coloured dress. Many colours didn't really match my pale complexion, so it was either white or blue because of my hair colour as well. I crouched down behind everyone as they all did their impressive moves that wowed practically everyone. I looked up and over the stage and I could see Natsu grinning at me and it made me smile. He was so supportive.

I looked back at the dance before edging myself in without the crowd noticing. It was my turn now.

~x~

"So who are you dancing with then? It's nearly the end of the show and your dance is next? Who are you dancing with and why is your costume looking so hot?!" Lucy was squealing in my ear and it was making my head ring. But she did just compliment my dress so I guess I have to be nice. I was putting on some lip gloss as she was looking at me through my mirror. I smirked at her before putting my finger to my lips and I winked at her.

"Lucy will see soon enough."

"Do I get to borrow those stilettos any time soon?" I shook my head at her with a grin. These red babies were _mine._ She laughed anyway, not in the slightest bit offended or angry. "Haha, well it was worth a try! Don't break a leg out there!"

I pretty much didn't want to break my leg out there because that would mean not pleasing the dance scouts or not being able to finish my dance with Natsu. Speaking of which, he was walking towards me. He wore a simple red vest top but with the same silver designs to match my dress and he had on black shorts. All in all, he looked like he was going to the beach and not dancing with me.

"You ready?"

"Yeah, though Juvia is still a little nervous." I started fiddling with the bracelet on my wrist, not forgetting that Natsu was the one that gave it to me. He held onto my hand before pulling me towards the stage.

"I don't know why, you're a great dancer either way. Now let's go up there and blow their minds." I was suddenly filled with this fire that made want to get on the stage and not care about anything. I was here to dance and that was what I was going to do. I was going to make sure that I danced my through this whole thing.

"Yeah, let's do that."

Throughout the whole dance, I was pouring every bit of emotion into it. I would look at him directly in the eyes anytime I was facing him and he would look into mine. I would push my body closer to his and make sure every gap has been filled. I would take a sharp intake of air every time I felt his hand run over my leg. My hands ran over his biceps and I'm pretty sure I accidentally squeezed it, impressed with his strength.

Then I was thrown over his shoulder. His hands on my waist. Everything was just moving so quickly in time with the beat before I craned my neck for him to get at and I could hear the cheers of the crowd. I opened my eyes and I noticed that were both done. Everyone was clapping their hands, giving us a standing ovation as well. Natsu held onto my hand as the rest of the dancers came out on stage with us. They were all surprised to see Natsu, but they couldn't comment on it now as we were all forced to bow and curtsy for the audience.

I looked up at Natsu and he grinned down at me. My heart started fluttering to the point where I thought I was going to die of a heart attack. I had to looked back out at the crowd that was still cheering so that I didn't embarrass myself, then we were all heading off the stage. Soon enough, Natsu was jumped by the whole dance class that was surprised that he came back to dance.

"You were amazing out there!"

"Man, we don't know why you quit, that was sick dude!"

"Natsu's legendary hot tango dance!"

"Does this mean you're over Lisanna?"

I watched them all as they were throwing questions at him, not even letting him get a word in. Lucy bounded up to me, a grin in her face. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at her. "I told you Natsu would be a really good partner for you! I can't believe you guys both did the _tango_! You were amazing out there and you did it in those heels too!"

I wasn't really expecting such words of praise from her, so I just blinked and gave her a small smile. "Thanks a lot, Lucy." She threw me a simple smile of her own before heading off to go and see Loke. I looked back at Natsu and his fans were still crowding around him. In fact, because the production was now over, many female students who weren't even in dance class were backstage trying to ask him out on a date.

I deflated as I felt a little bit of jealousy creep in. All these girls were pretty and I'm not, so I'm not even worth being an opponent. I'm nothing special. I caught his eyes for a brief second and it looked like he wanted to make his way over to me before I felt someone at my elbow. I turned around to see Mira-sensei with two women and a man. She was grinning.

"Juvia! I would like for you to meet the dance scouts, they were highly impressed with your solo dance and your tango act as well! Juvia here is a bright student, always a straight A student as well as throwing her everything into my class." I blushed from the attention that I received before the man spoke up.

"My name is Jason and I'm just going to come right out and say it. Your dancing is very cool! How would you, like to dance on National TV?! Sounds cool doesn't it?!"

I was stunned as I nodded my head. Jason clapped his hands in excitement before spotting Natsu. "In fact, I want the both of you to do the tango because it was so cool. We have an international competition where dancers from around the world represent their country, cool huh?!"

Mira had quickly raced off to go and get Natsu and I was suddenly left alone with these three people. Soon enough, I had Natsu standing by my side and he too was shocked by the whole thing. I was so tempted to grab his hands during the whole talk, but I was able to keep them by my side. Jason was then talking again.

"So what do you think?! Cool huh?" I swear he had said the word 'cool' over 50 times right now, ugh! What the hell? Anyway, it did sound really inviting. The only problem was if Natsu would do it.

"I'm in." His voice snapped me back to reality as I stared at Natsu in shock. Not wanting them to wait for my own answer, I nodded my head as well.

"Juvia will do it too."

"Excellent! Okay, we'll be in touch through Mira! Don't worry, you'll hear from us soon." The three of them were suddenly gone as Mira-sensei clapped her hands for us, as she was clearly excited for all this to happen.

"You guys were perfect out there! You deserve this. I loved your passion. Whether you were faking it or not, I found it amazing. The fire in your tango just gets to me every time! Thank you, you guys." I just blushed and Natsu grinned as his arms around my shoulders and he wrapped me in a hug.

"What can I say? Juvia brings out the fire in me." I looked up at him in surprise when I heard him say that. I wasn't quite sure if he was just saying that because he was in front of reporters and dance scouts, but when I looked up at him, he was staring right into my eyes. I didn't know what it was, but it was like all the emotion in his eyes were trying to scream out at me. I felt so overwhelmed as I looked away, a warm feeling creeping into my heart. I had never really had a guy like me before, except for Bora, my ex who I found out was only dating me because I'm a virgin, so I never really knew what the signs were for a guy liking a girl. Was this a sign that he liked me in a way more than a friend?

The whole stage crew tidied up and I stood at the side, waiting for Gajeel to come and pick me up so that he can take me home. I looked over through the crowd and it was like he had forgotten me because soon enough, I saw him walking out of the door with Levy. I sighed heavily to myself, knowing I had to go home by myself now. He was too far away and there were so many people in my way. I guess he had gotten tired of waiting for me to say hello and thank you to all my many 'fans' who had enjoyed my dancing along with Natsu's.

I wasn't really in the mood to change and I had left all my warm clothes in Gajeel's car, another thing that I was angry at him for. He couldn't have at least brought it in here and left it backstage could he? It wasn't the warmest of nights and I had no idea how I was going to get home now.

I stepped out into the cold and I could hear all the other kids with their parents, talking about how amazing the night was. I could hear my name and Natsu's name fly out of people's mouths more than once and I felt a silly smile make it's way up on my lips. For once, I felt like I had been recognised for something that I had been waiting for just about forever to recognised on. It was finally my turn to shine.

"Juvia, you're going to freeze out here! Where's Gajeel?"

I felt a jacket fall on my shoulders and I instantly warmed up, as though I was now sitting by a campfire. I turned my head and saw the object of my affections now standing by my side. He shoved his hands in his pockets and I frowned, feeling bad instantly.

"Gajeel went home. Couldn't be bothered to wait for Juvia by the looks of it. Anyways, isn't Natsu-san going to freeze as well?"

"Nah, it's just a short little walk to where I parked my car. Come on, I'll get you home. Stop looking like I just shot your puppy, I'm not even cold! The quicker we get to the car, I won't be cold?" I knew that he was trying to give me different excuses as to why I should wear his jacket and I couldn't help find it cute that he was trying his best to accommodate me. He was really a nice guy and I could see why it was easy to have a soft spot for him, or fall for him entirely.

"Fine then, because Natsu is being all cute about it, let's go."

We walked next to one another in peace and quiet, the silence not being uncomfortable at all. His car was nice as snug as well as being black with custom made flames on the side. Why am I not surprised, the guy himself was like fire and the way he danced the tango like that, he looked like a flame as well.

"You know what Juvia? I've been thinking about it and I think I want to get to know you a little better."

I raised an eyebrow as he reversed and we were suddenly on our way. "What is Natsu even talking about? There isn't really anything about Juvia to want to know. Natsu would be wasting his time." As much as it hurt to say about myself, even I had to face the facts sometimes. I knew that I was just kidding myself with Gray and thinking that he was just playing hard to get every time he rejected me, but rejection does that to a girl. She becomes more aware of the things around her.

"Remember when we told each other that we were just going to be dance partners and our lives would go back to normal? Well, these three days have been fun with you and I think it would just slip back into some boring routine of fighting with some people. You're a lot of fun."

He quickly turned his head to grin at me before looking back at the road, leaving me to feel so embarrassed as to how easy he was complimenting me. "Plus, now we have to think of a new tango routine for this nationals thing, right?" He did a sharp right turn, as though he had forgotten the way to my house and he got a few angry horn beeps while he just laughed. I couldn't help but let out a small smile of my own.

"If Natsu is insisting then. Juvia would love to get to know Natsu as well."

We stopped at a set of red lights before we looked at each other. His eyes knocked the breath right out of me as he then smile, making my heart stop for a little bit before beating again. I never felt this kind of emotions while I was busy being 'in love' with Gray. This felt a whole lot more different, as though it was pure.

"Great, I guess I'll pick you up tomorrow morning for school then." I looked up and we were suddenly at the home that I was currently sharing with Gajeel and I saw the front room lights were still on. Clearly Levy was still there as well and I groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"Juvia is going to be the third wheel as soon as she turns walks through that door. Fun." I laid it thick with the sarcasm and Natsu just laughed. It wasn't that I didn't like Levy, hell no. She was my best friend and we still had this competition of our grades going on, but it was just a little annoying to see your best friend go out with the guy you call brother. I hated it a lot because the both of them started spending less and less time with me, ditching me for one another and I just left so alone even when I had my two favourite people besides me.

"Hey, you wanna come back later?"

Natsu must have seen my face turn from playful to melancholic because he actually looked a little worried. I was about to answer him, telling him no that it's a school night and I need to get home, but looking at the time on my phone, it was only like 9:15. I then changed my mind, knowing that if I went in there, Levy would be there for a long time, looking at how early it still was.

"Yeah, sure, why not?"

* * *

How was that chapter for ya? Hope I've done a good job! Actually, I know I haven't. I've gotten my days and stuff mixed up, but meh, I'm not perfect. After all, this isn't a story that's going to be sold all over the world lol. Also, I know that there will be a few of you who will say this is moving too quickly, well I know. That's the plan. They like each other, but it will take them a while to say anything. Got it? Before I have a bunch of haters saying 'slow the story down'. Lolita knows what she's doing :)

Please don't forget to rate or hate, flames or floods! Send reviews and I'll send my love!

Lolita-chan


	5. Chapter 5

Hey, Dark Gothic Lolita!

As you can see, I really am going back and looking at a good majority of my stories that need updating. I did promise that a lot of stories were going to get updates within the next 3 weeks, didn't I? Of course I did lol. Some of them really have been left a long while. While I've got this week off (it's more of a working from home week off lol, got reports to write) I thought let me see what I can push out before my life gets too busy again!

Disclaimers are boring.

ENJOY!

* * *

 **I don't dance**

 **Chapter five**

I took us both to the nearest arcade that would still be open on a school night. Juvia was sitting in the passenger seat, making conversation and I don't think I could have been any happier. We got there and she had suddenly realised how hungry she was.

"Luckily, Juvia has her purse!"

"What? You're gonna pay? Not on my watch you're not, I got this. Just tell me what you want."

She gaped at me like I suddenly grew two heads or something and I grinned at her confused and amusing face. She seemed to snap out of it and she shook her head defiantly. "No, no, Juvia can't let Natsu do that! Plus, Juvia is about to eat so much, she's so hungry! Juvia couldn't do that to Natsu!"

I sighed and shook my head with a smile on my face. "Don't sweat it so much, when I say I've got this, I mean it. Now turn that frown upside down!" I used my fingers to physically turn Juvia's frown into a smile. I laughed which in turn made her laugh as she rolled her eyes at me, saying that I was such a dork.

"Natsu isn't going to back down from this is he?"

"You know me so well. Now, let's order."

She stayed true to her word and ordered a LOT of food and she didn't even seem a bit embarrassed by it. I ordered mine and the people at the tills were looking at one another when they tried to get us all our food. We both laughed and apologized for being so annoying, but hey, I was hungry as hell and so was Juvia.

"This is one of the many reasons why I like you and get along with you so well. We both share a passion for not only dance, but eating as well." She laughed and it might have been my imagination, but I'm pretty sure I saw her blushing at what I said. I thought back and realised that I had said why I like her.

"Oh you know, as a friend, hehehe." Well that was awkward. What the hell was I thinking?! She definitely doesn't like me in that way, she probably has some deep down secret hidden feelings for Gray still! I didn't want it to be awkward anymore, but I didn't have a conversation starter. Thankfully, before we would just be standing there in silence, our food was given to us. I have never been more grateful.

"Thanks."

Juvia tried to take the tray, but I beat her to it and she gave me some cute but annoyed look. "Natsu just bought the food, the least Juvia can do is hold a few measly trays."

"Nuh uh uh. You're the star of the show tonight and I'm just here as your little help boy. Come on Princess, let's go and find a bowling alley to play on." Right now, I couldn't care less about exposing the fact that I am falling for her. She looked like one, she acted like one and she knew how to eat an amount that could very much rival mine. I mean it didn't, but it could.

"But Natsu is the star of the show as well! Natsu got his mojo back and everyone was clapping for Natsu more than Juvia." I watched as she bit her lip and I had to suppress a moan in order to not scare her off. She had this look that could melt butter and if I wasn't careful, she would be able to wrap me around her finger, but she can already do that, she just doesn't know that she can.

"Okay fine, Juvia can see that Natsu isn't going to back down from this either. Let's go, helper boy." She threw a wink at me before brushing past me. My jaw dropped. Was it just me, or did she sound extremely flirty just now? I swallowed down a gulp and I just followed her. We paid for an alley before our names came up on the screen. Juvia grabbed a hamburger and stuffed her face into it before grabbing a blue bowling ball.

"Looks like Juvia's going first! Juvia must admit, she is bad at bowling okay? Go easy on her." She placed her burger down and I watched as she got into position. She swung the ball at a speed that even I had to compliment before she smacked a strike. I threw her an extremely dirty look. She lied to me.

"Bad at bowling you say? Why do I get the feeling that you lied to me?"

She blushed as I smirked at her and grabbed a red ball. "Natsu caught Juvia out."

"It's okay, you're not the only who can do that."

She watched as I too was able to get a strike. I threw her a simple smirk and she blushed once more. "How about we make it fun then? If you win, you can make me do something, if I win, I make you do something. Don't worry, it's not sexual or anything!"

She nodded her head and tilted it. "What are we betting then?"

"We can tell each other at the end, when the other wins."

"Okay! Juvia's getting excited now! Get ready to lose!" I saw a competitive streak in her eyes and it made me get excited as well. We both started bowling like our lives depended on it, our scores so similar to one another. We laughed, mocked and yelled at each other depending on what it was until finally, we got to the final one.

"This is it Natsu-san. Better get ready to do what Juvia wants." She gave me a cocky smirk and I shook my head at her.

"I'm going to watch you eat your words." She just laughed and grabbed up her blue ball that she had deemed lucky. She smacked it down the aisle and we watched as only half of her pins went down. She growled and picked up another ball and only knocked down five.

"Ooooh, you think that's going to be enough for you to win?"

"We'll have to see won't we? Natsu's turn."

I got my own red ball and I winked at her, throwing her off and I bowled my ball, nice and easy, right down the centre. Juvia sighed, knowing fully well that I was going to get a strike, which I did. I punched the air, feeling excited.

"OH YEAH BABY! LOOK WHO JUST WON!"

"Shut up and tell Juvia what Natsu-san wants Juvia to do."

"Oh, I was too wrapped up into the game, I didn't really think of anything. I'll tell you about it tomorrow when I think of something. You ready to go home?"

She sighed and smiled at me before taking some food. "Yeah, just let Juvia get this to go!" I watched as she took a few chips and grabbed a burger before we left. "Juvia is grateful that Natsu-san decided to hang out with Juvia. We should do something over the weekend! If Natsu-san wants to."

"Sure, that would be cool. What did you have in mind?"

"More like what does Natsu-san have in mind. Natsu-san won the bet." I grinned at her and shook my head as I turned a sharp corner, not really focusing that much on the road. I left it there as I was trying to think of something I could get her to do, but not one that she would hate.

"Swim with me."

It just came out and I didn't really put much thought in that, but remembering the story she had told me about her parents, I started clamming up, wondering if I had gone and said something too bad. I was about to apologize for my stupidity and me not thinking when I saw her out of the corner of my eye, shrugging.

"Okay, fine, if it will make Natsu-san happy."

"Hey, I want you to be happy too! I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking and I know you hate swimming because of your parents."

I heard her chuckle softly. "No, it's okay. Juvia has seen that it wasn't because of swimming that her parents died. Besides, when Juvia went to go and swim again, she found how much she loved it, next to dancing. Swimming was the only thing Juvia was good at for a long time and she can't abandon it, so yeah, Juvia doesn't mind and seeing as it also makes Natsu-san happy, Juvia would love to swim."

I stopped at the lights and I had to gulp harshly before looking at her. She is actually seriously cute and I still can't believe that Gray was so horrible to someone like her. You know what? I'll probably have to punch him in his face just for that. But then I'll thank him later if I'm able to get a date with her.

"So it's settled then, we're going on swimming on Saturday!"

She nodded at me as I stopped the car outside her house. She looked up and in through the window and couldn't see Levy, so she sighed. "Thank you so much for tonight Natsu-san, Juvia really had fun and Juvia has to say it, Natsu-san is a really good friend. Thank you."

Ouch, I had actually never been friend zoned before, so it was extremely painful when I finally was, but Juvia! Dammit, I want to be more than friends with her so bad! She leaned towards me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and smiled once more.

"Juvia will see Natsu-san tomorrow."

She slid out of the car and I watched her like a deer in the headlights. I made sure that Gajeel had opened the door for her and waved one final time to me before I waved at her and drove off. I smiled as I remembered everything that happened today. The dance was the most amazing part of the day, the feel of her body under my hands. It was amazing, the fire that we had between her.

I got outside my house and turned off my engine, just sitting there thinking about stuff. She was the first person to get me back into my hobby after my bestfriend died and she is the only one who understands the feeling of loss. I guess I should be grateful to her for coming into my life.

I soon got out of the car and I saw the TV in the window, still on. I sighed, knowing fully well that Gray might try and make a conversation or worse yet, mock me for getting to dance with Juvia when in my eyes, I see it as the best thing ever.

"Dude, what was the dance like? How was dancing with Juvia?"

I could hear the mocking tone in his voice already and I decided that I wasn't even going to respond to that piece of shit. If he didn't like her, he just had to tell her in a nice way that would get her off of his back, not lie about his aunt's death. That's just sick and disgusting. If Lyon and Ultear heard about the way he used Ur for a lie, they would skin him alive, Ultear especially.

I placed my keys in the key pot and locked the door behind me with all the bolts and stuff. If Gray was here this late, it was clear he wasn't going to be going back home or to any of his cousin's places. Why was I the one who got stuck with him when I wasn't even family?

"Didn't you hear me?"

"I heard you and I'm choosing to ignore you."

Geeze, didn't HE get the hint that I didn't want to talk to him? Funny how things turn out, right? I heard him get up from the sofa and I sighed, not wanting to deal with this right now. The whole night wore me out, but in a good way of course.

"Let me guess, she yapped your ears off about me? I guess even though she's annoying, she's right about me being amazing."

He wore some self centered smirk on his face that I would have loved to have wiped off of it, but it was too late to start a fight. Well, it's never really too late to start a fight, but I'm tired, so starting one would be dangerous, especially if I'm not alert. He might win it if I started it. I wasn't an idiot, I knew when I would lose a fight and when I would win one.

"Nah, not really. She doesn't even talk about you. We rocked the whole school, parents were amazed and now we're going to be dancing on national TV, competing against other schools as well. What else can I say other than thank you for being your douchey self and letting me be the one in this position and that I'm really tired, so good fucking night."

I was walking up the stairs, not even wanting to look at his face or wait for his reaction when he called out to me, "Wait!" I sighed angrily and turned to face him. "You're going on TV?"

"Dude, just wait till you get into school tomorrow and hear how popular we both were. Maybe someone will show you a video of us dancing and how amazing we were." Hey, just because I'm tired, doesn't mean I won't boast about how awesome we were. He finally shut up and let me go back up to my room. I stripped down to my boxers and sighed before closing my eyes. Time for some sleep.

* * *

"Hmm, can't say I'm surprised that you've got all these girls swarming after you. You really showed them how you move with one." Lucy winked at me as I groaned, trying to get into my locker. Ever since last night, it was like my whole reputation of being a fighter had just been trampled on and all these girls wanted a freaking autograph. Even Lucy was being extra flirty today.

"It was just one stupid dance. I used to do it all the time yet no one would come to me the next day like they are now. It was just a simple 'you were good last night.' What makes last night so different?"

"Because all the girls thought you and Lisanna were a couple and now that you've gone and danced with Juvia, they're positive that you're not a couple, so they're trying to ask you out. Girls love a bad boy who can dance, Natsu."

I looked at her like she was crazy. "That's a new one, where did you hear that one from?"

"More like where did I read it. Erza gave me one of her books to read because she thought that I might like it with dancing being the main theme. That girl...head girl prefect yet she reads smut like that, it's just weird."

Lucy had a blush on her face as she was obviously remembering a book that Erza had given to her to read. I raised an eyebrow as I took out one of my books and placed it in my bag. "Riiiight, remind me to never ask Erza for a book then."

Lucy stopped blushing as she followed me down the hallway and to our next class. She had an amused expression on her face. "Why would you even ask her for a book anyway, you don't read."

I gave her a short laugh. "Oh ha, ha, very funny."

Before I got into the class, I saw Juvia talking to Levy about something and she looked up at me at the same time that I looked at her. I saw her eyes brighten up and her smile got wider as she grinned at me and I grinned at her as well. I forgot that Lucy was standing there and she was looking between the both of us before she gasped.

"Oh. My. GOD!"

I jumped and glared at her, for her weirdness. When I looked back up at Juvia, she had gone back to talking with Levy and I sighed before walking into the classroom. I sat down in my seat and Lucy took hers next to mine, obviously excited about something that she was going to tell me about. Not like I cared.

"You like Juvia, don't you?!" She shout whispered it at me as you could hear the happiness in her tone, yet she knew better than to cause a commotion. My face went bright red as I felt the urge to jump up and shout no, but that would gain attention as well. I couldn't believe that I was being so obvious! Well actually, Lucy was always able to see these things about people.

"What the fuck are you talking about Luce?! I don't like her like that!"

"Oh, Luce is it? You only ever call me that when you have something to hide, or if you're telling a lie and right now, you're doing both. Do I have to battle and badger this out of you, or are you just going to tell me the truth?"

I saw the teacher walk in and I gave her a fake sorry expression. Lahar hated it when we spoke in his lessons and even Lucy knew this. She gave me an evil scowl, knowing fully well that she wasn't going to get it out of me this lesson, and probably not today at all because I was going to be out of here like a shot once the lesson was over. I gave her a simple smirk, showing her that I had won this round.

She above all people didn't really need to know that I was crushing on Juvia, like it was none of her business. It was weird. Juvia and I only had an agreement that we will dance together and that will be it. It only took three days and already I'm crushing on her really hard.

I couldn't even concentrate in the lesson, but that was nothing new. This time, it was because of Juvia. I couldn't get her out of my head. I remembered her outfit from yesterday and how sexy she looked in it. She moved so fluently, more than Lisanna could and Lisanna was really good at the tango. She was cute and when she ate, she could give me a run for my money.

The next thing I heard was the bell and I was out of that class quicker then ever before so that Lucy doesn't try and corner me to ask more questions. The next class I had was actually with Juvia this time around and I could feel myself grinning.

I got to English and there she was, sitting in the same seat as last time and the space next to her was free. My grin widened as I jumped into my seat next to her, gaining her attention. She raised an eyebrow as she grinned at me as well.

"Why is Natsu-san looking so happy?"

"Is that a crime?"

"Nope, Juvia is just curious," she admitted.

I chuckled as she brought out her notebook and pen. "Oh you know, getting to sit next to you puts a grin on my face." She paused when I said that and I thought maybe I had said something wrong, but when I looked at her face, I saw that her porcelain skin was now as red blood. She was blushing!

Before I could even taunt her about it, our teacher walked in. "Morning class. As you're all aware, this is our term based on Shakespeare. We will be joining with the drama department on this one. I want you guys to choose your favourite Shakespeare story and act out a scene with drama. You can work in pairs, threes or fours, but no more than that. I will let you choose because I don't want people moaning to me that they don't like their partner. I will swap those who I believe are not working hard enough."

I turned my head to look at Juvia with yet another grin on my face and I noticed her face was red. I got closer, wondering what was wrong with her when I suddenly realised what is was and I smirked.

"Is that a blush I see on your face, Juvia-chan?"

Ever since we danced last night in front of everyone in our costume and her wearing the bracelet that I got her, it's like my feelings for her amplified. I wouldn't call it love, but I was definitely crushing on her.

"N-no, let's just think of a good Shakespeare play that we would want to do."

As much as I looked like the sort of guy who didn't know a thing about good ole literature, I did know my fair share. Back when Lisanna was still alive, we were in a dance group outside of school as well and we would act out anything from Swan Lake right down to Shakespeare and Marlowe, so yeah, I knew a few good ones.

"Well, I don't wanna do Romeo and Juliet, that's for sure."

Juvia raised an eyebrow at me. "Not that Juvia is complaining about that either, but why does Natsu-san not want to do that? Isn't it easier and one that everyone knows?"

"My point exactly. I'm not gonna be like every other bonehead here and pick the easiest one that everyone knows, as well as the most popular. It might not look like it, but I want a good grade out of this class seeing as to me it's the easiest. Well, next to PE anyway."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Juvia finds the love story stupid. The story takes place over three days and it's more like a terrible undeveloped romance to Juvia. It's just incredibly fake, so Juvia doesn't mind not doing that one. How about MacBeth instead? The scene where Lady MacBeth is tempting MacBeth to overthrow the King? Juvia likes that scene."

I was getting excited now. I'd never really produced my best when it came to pair work because I was always mucking around, but I wanted to try for Juvia. Plus, I know about her ongoing competition with Levy and I didn't really want her to lose out on that.

"Yeah, we could make like an expressionist dance on it as well!"

Juvia clapped her hands as her face lit up in delight. Oh man she looks so cute like that, she doesn't even know it!

"Juvia has decided, Natsu-san is the best partner ever!"

I stared at her as she started writing our ideas down. I know it wasn't really much, it meant quite a lot to me. I wasn't sure if she was talking about the dance the night before or the work, but I was going to take that compliment. I grinned as I started sharing more of my ideas and that was when it happened. Everyone started congratulating us.

"Hey, you guys were AMAZING last night! I wish I could dance like that."

"Yeah man, the way you lifted Juvia as well, like she weighed nothing!"

"Natsu, do you think you can teach me how to dance like that?"

"Juvia, you looked so hot last night!"

They kept on going at it before they were all silenced. "Shut up and get on with your work, all of you. Juvia, Natsu? You guys did really well last night and I even heard that you will be going on National TV. Keep up the good work and I expect a lot from my two best English students."

We both beamed a little bit as we looked at one another. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me and her smile stretched out. I couldn't help myself as I looked down at her lips. She seemed to notice because was staring at me with an expectant look on her face. I was just lost at how luscious and pink her lips looked. They looked so full.

"Natsu-san?"

That snapped me straight out of my thoughts and I stared up into her eyes. Her cheeks had turned pink and she pointed at the work while playing with the bracelet I gave her. It made me smile that she was wearing it.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something else."

* * *

I stood on Juvia's doorstep as I rang the bell, waiting for someone to open the door. I heard Juvia screaming at Gajeel for him to open the door because she wasn't ready and I couldn't help but laugh. Gajeel only let two girls shout at him, his sister and Levy.

I could hear grumbling on the other side of the door and when it opened, saw Gajeel standing there looking extremely tired. He had probably been forced out of bed to open the door because when he yawned, I didn't even bother hiding my disgust.

"Dude, your breath fucking stinks and you're yawning in my face."

Gajeel must have been really tired because he didn't even respond to that. Instead he walked away, leaving the door open so that I could come in. I watched him slink back upstairs, a cat looking like a teddy bear meowing at the top of the stairs followed him once he got up there.

I went to wait in the living room and that was when I saw all the family pictures. There were pictures of Gajeel and his family as well as Juvia with hers. There were some of them together as well as another younger boy who looked like Gajeel. Who knew he actually had a blood sibling?

"Sorry for keeping Natsu-san and making him wait for so long."

"Nah it's cool. I got to meet a tired Gajeel face to face."

"Yeah, he doesn't function well in the mornings. He has to knock back 10 cups of coffee or sleep for longer than 12 hours before he will actually be worthy of the public eye."

I laughed as she held a bag in her hands. Even though she clearly hadn't attempted with looking great, she still looked perfect to me.

"Let's get going, we've got a longish drive."

"Juvia is confused, she thought we were going to the local one? That's only a ten minute drive."

I shook my head, a cheeky grin settling on my lips. "That one is boring, we're going to an indoor water park."

Her jaw dropped before she grinned and punched the air. "Yay!"

She then decided to lead the way to the car and waited for me to unlock it so that she could jump in. She threw her stuff into the back and put on her seat belt as I started up the car. She started messing about with my radio and my eyes widened at the station she had stopped at. She had a guilty look on her face.

"Sorry, Gajeel got Juvia into metal and it's kind of a guilty pleasure..."

I laughed. "It's aiight, I don't care much about music anyway. I just can't imagine innocent little you headbanging."

We both laughed at that, the instrumental still thumping away in the background. I had to admit, it was still better than half the pop that was played everywhere these days. I was just surprised that she listened to this sort of music, but when she explained that it had been Gajeel's influence, I understood immediately.

"Hey, does Gajeel have a younger brother? I couldn't help but see him in the pictures."

I saw her face fall out of the corner of my eye which made me wonder what was going on. "Yes, that is Gajeel-kun's and Juvia's younger brother, Raios. When their parents died, they got put into a home. Juvia's parents were going through the paperwork to adopt them when they both died and Juvia also ended up in the home. Because Raios was much younger than us, he was immediately adopted and they didn't take Gajeel, despite them both pleading. Gajeel's last words to Raios was 'I'm going to find you and when I do, you're coming back with me.' Till this day, Gajeel is still trying to find out where Raios went, but they won't release the information until Gajeel is 18, which is next month."

I nodded my head, my throat tightening up a little bit. That sounded so messed up and if that were me, I would raise hell. At least Gajeel was actively still looking for his brother and not giving up. I just hoped that the kid wouldn't have forgotten who Gajeel is.

"I'm sorry to bring it up."

"It's okay, Natsu-san just wanted to know. It's not something Gajeel-kun likes to share, not because it makes him look weak, but more like because he doesn't want to think about the fact that he might never get to see his brother again. Knowing that family, they probably changed his name and all sorts. Gajeel-kun can't bear the thought of it."

"I get it. I won't let him know I know."

She gave me a grateful smile as she bit her lip, as though she was trying to think of something else to say before she decided not to say anything at all. I raised an eyebrow but I didn't mention anything about it. Instead, I just grinned, wondering what was going to happen today at the waterpark.

* * *

So how was that chapter for ya? Is anyone still reading this after it looked like abandoned it? Lol, sorry for that, I will to update it more often!

Please rate or hate, flames or floods! Reviews are perfect lil angels, and so are you guys who keep supporting my writing!

Lolita-chan


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